Cerebral Structural And Metabolic Correlates Of Aggressi

攻击性的大脑结构和代谢相关性

• 批准号: 7317632
• 负责人: Daniel W Hommer
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 至
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7317632
• 关键词: Cerebral; Structural; Metabolic; Correlates; Aggressi

This research is designed to determine neuroanatomical and neurochemical correlates of addictive and aggressive/impulsive behavior in human subjects. The principal focus of these studies is the measurement and correlation of regional cerebral glucose metabolic activity, using positron emission tomography (PET), brain volumes using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), cerebrospinal fluid metabolites, and measures of impulsive/aggressive behavior and excessive alcohol consumption. We collected full, volumetric T-1 weighted MR images using a 1.5 T scanner to measure intracranial volumes in 350 alcoholics (248 males and 112 females) and 163 healthy, non-alcoholic comparison subjects (82 males and 81 females). An automated segmentation program was used to divide the intracranial contents into CSF, gray and white matter (Human Brain Mapping, 5:194-205, 1997). When we measure brain volume we are measuring the combined effect of two processes: growth and degeneration. Growth determines maximum brain size achieved during life. Maximal brain growth can be estimated by intracranial volume (ICV) and since ICV remains constant throughout life, brain In additiondegeneration can be measured by the ratio of cerebral volume or gray matter or white matter volume to the remainder of the intracranial contents. Alcoholics show greater brain degeneration than non-alcoholics. Alcoholic women are more affected than alcoholic men. Alcoholics also show significantly greater brain shrinkage than controls by their mid to late twenties. In addition, alcoholics have smaller intracranial volumes than controls suggesting that pre-morbid differences in brain size may contribute to the risk for alcoholism. Despite the significant difference in intracranial volume brain, degeneration accounts for a greater amount of the difference in brain volume between alcoholics and controls than brain growth does. Similarly, presence or absence of co-morbid psychiatric disorder or other substance abuse does not affect brain shrinkage among alcoholics. Over the past year we have made several methodological advances in the automated measurement of brain volumes. An automated method for dividing the brain into right and left hemispheres was developed and validated. In addition, we have developed an automated method for measuring the volume of mesial and orbital frontal cortex, as well as the entire striatum. These regions are known to be involved in motivation and social behavior. We have begun to investigate the normal and pathological development of the striatum. It appears that children and adolescents at risk for the development of alcoholism have significantly smaller striatums, including nucleus accumbens, than child not at high risk for the development of alcoholism. In addition, we have also examined how a family history (FH) of heavy drinking affects both brain shrinkage as measured by the ratio of brain volumes to intracranial volume as well as maximal brain growth as measured by ICV in early-onset and late-onset alcoholics. FH positive alcoholic patients have significantly smaller ICVs than FH negative patients, suggesting smaller premorbid brain growth among alcoholics with a heavy drinking motr or father. Brain shrinkage was not affected by FH. Late-onset alcoholics show a greater difference in ICV between FH positive and FH negative patients than early-onset alcoholics. Late-onset FH positive patients also have significantly lower IQ scores than late-onset FH negative patients, and IQ scores are correlated with ICV. These data provide evidence that heavy parental alcohol use may increase risk for alcoholism in offspring in part by a genetic and/or environmental effect resulting in reduced brain growth.

这项研究旨在确定人类受试者成瘾和攻击性/冲动行为的神经解剖学和神经化学相关性。这些研究的主要重点是使用正电子发射断层扫描（PET）测量区域脑葡萄糖代谢活动并进行相关性，使用磁共振成像（MRI）测量脑体积，脑脊液代谢物，以及冲动/攻击行为和过量酒精的测量消耗。我们使用 1.5 T 扫描仪收集了完整的体积 T-1 加权 MR 图像，以测量 350 名酗酒者（248 名男性和 112 名女性）和 163 名健康、非酒精对照受试者（82 名男性和 81 名女性）的颅内体积。使用自动分割程序将颅内内容物分为脑脊液、灰质和白质（Human Brain Mapping，5：194-205，1997）。当我们测量大脑体积时，我们测量的是两个过程的综合影响：生长和退化。生长决定了一生中达到的最大大脑尺寸。最大脑生长可以通过颅内体积(ICV)来估计，并且由于ICV在整个生命中保持恒定，因此脑变性还可以通过脑体积或灰质或白质体积与颅内内容物的其余部分的比率来测量。酗酒者比不酗酒者表现出更严重的大脑退化。酗酒的女性比酗酒的男性受到的影响更大。酗酒者在二十多岁时的大脑萎缩程度也明显高于对照组。此外，酗酒者的颅内容量比对照组小，这表明病前大脑大小的差异可能会增加酗酒的风险。尽管大脑的颅内体积存在显着差异，但与大脑生长相比，退化对酗酒者和对照组之间大脑体积差异的影响更大。同样，是否存在共病精神疾病或其他药物滥用并不影响酗酒者的大脑萎缩。在过去的一年里，我们在脑容量的自动测量方面取得了一些方法上的进展。开发并验证了一种将大脑分为左右半球的自动化方法。此外，我们还开发了一种自动化方法来测量内侧和眶额皮质以及整个纹状体的体积。众所周知，这些区域与动机和社会行为有关。我们已经开始研究纹状体的正常和病理发育。看来，有酗酒风险的儿童和青少年的纹状体（包括伏隔核）比没有酗酒高风险的儿童要小得多。 此外，我们还研究了酗酒家族史 (FH) 如何影响早发型和晚发型患者的脑萎缩（通过脑容量与颅内容积之比测量）以及最大脑生长（通过 ICV 测量）酗酒者。 FH 阳性酗酒患者的 ICV 明显小于 FH 阴性患者，这表明父亲或母亲酗酒的酗酒者病前大脑生长较小。大脑萎缩不受 FH 影响。与早发性酗酒者相比，晚发性酗酒者在 FH 阳性和 FH 阴性患者之间的 ICV 差异更大。晚发FH阳性患者的IQ评分也显着低于晚发FH阴性患者，且IQ评分与ICV相关。这些数据提供的证据表明，父母大量饮酒可能会增加后代酗酒的风险，部分原因是遗传和/或环境影响导致大脑生长减缓。